After the second wave of the pandemic that exposed the void in the country’s healthcare system, the district administration decided to strengthen all primary, community, district and district hospitals by ensuring 24xs7 oxygen supplies.
Deputy District Medical and Health Physician (Dy. DM&HO) said Fr. Ravi Raju The Hindu that according to a study on the dynamics of COVID infections in the district, the importance of equipping the primary health centers (PHCs) with oxygen concentrators was strongly felt.
“With a large number of rural patients dependent on PHCs, we are considering giving these units top priority to provide oxygen concentrators. A large number of donors, including the Telugu NRIs from the USA, have already provided the necessary equipment for many centers, ”said Ravi Raju.
The official said that while the graph of COVID infections in the first wave showed a steady rise and fall in cases, especially in urban areas, the second wave came very suddenly and hit the rural side hard. “The record spread was due to a lack of knowledge of the rural population about the new variants and different symptoms. The delay in patients to get tested and last-minute admissions to COVID hospitals resulted in an increase in cases and casualties, “said Dr. Ravi Raju.
“The availability of oxygen in the units would save lives in the event of a third wave. Our goal is to prevent deaths by ensuring immediate care until ambulances arrive and moving them to COVID hospitals. The concentrators would also be of immense help in dealing with COVID cases in infants. ”
So far, donations have not only come from the NRIs, but also from local industrial companies and charitable foundations.
“Rajampeta MP Mithun Reddy and Nagari MLA RK Roja took the lead in providing donations of essential supplies to the hospitals in the district. With donations now largely limited to the COVID hospitals and urban health centers, we appeal to donors to extend their gesture to all 102 primary, 6 community health centers and 6 district hospitals for the benefit of the rural sector as well. “Said Dr. Ravi Raju.